


What's the Cost of a Pie?

by Dark_rune



Category: Supernatural
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-04-03
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:40:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23419885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dark_rune/pseuds/Dark_rune
Summary: A pie is stolen.  A hunt goes sideways.  Cas gets hurt and Dean can't fix that.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Comments: 4
Kudos: 30





	1. A pie, a wolf and a witch

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this idea kicking around for awhile now and thought I'd share it. It's my first attempt at a fan fiction in a very long time. Hopefully it works out. If nothing else I can try to contribute to the stories here.

“I don’t know Dean. I didn’t touch it. If it’s not in the fridge I don’t know where it is.”

Dean just grunted as he moved things around in the fridge. He shoved a few beer bottles aside and his eyes lit up. He reverently pulled the pan from the fridge and closed the door with his foot. “Oh yeah, this is gonna be good.”

“Dean, it’s 8am and you are starting your day with pie.” Sam rolled his eyes and took a sip of his coffee. He slid a fork across the table and turned back to his book.  
Dean snatched up the fork and tucked into the pie. “Best way to start the day is with pie. Besides I earned this pie. It’s post-hunt pie. The best kind.” He grinned happily to himself as he took another bite.

“It could be worse, Moose.” Crowley said as he sauntered into the bunker kitchen. “He could be washing it down with the swill in the fridge.”

Dean started and barely caught the fork. Sam slopped coffee on his hand and muttered a curse.

“Come on man,” Dean snapped. “What the hell do you want? I haven’t even showered yet.”

“I know.” Crowley picked a piece of lint off his suit. “I could smell you before I got here. By my guess, it’s been several days.” 

“What do you want,” Sam asked as he wiped up the coffee spill. 

“Ah, straight to business. That’s the problem with you boys. No foreplay. No romance.” The King of Hell sighed. “I’m here to collect on a debt. You asked me to provide you with the blood of the hydra to complete that little ritual of yours. I upheld my end of the bargain. I’m here to see that you uphold yours.”

“Which is what exactly?” Sam asked.

“I am mounting an expedition Moose. I’ll be needing your help on said expedition. For a week or two. Maybe three.” Crowley glanced down his nose at Sam. “I’ll provide you with the appropriate dress for our trip.”

“Alright, when do you want to go on this ‘expedition’ of yours,” Dean asked using air quotes.

“I was thinking now,” Crowley smirked. He snapped his fingers and Dean was left alone in the kitchen.

“Son of a bitch.”

The pie was gone too.

***********  
Cas had found the hunt the day after Crowley flounced off with Sam. He told Dean it would give them something to do until Sam returned and it was only a few hours from the bunker. Dean didn’t bring it up, but he suspected the angel was also trying to replace the pie Crowley had stolen. Or at least get Dean to stop whining about the theft. The pie after this hunt was going to be all the sweeter.

Several hikers had gone missing in the last few weeks. Some of the locals thought an animal like a bear or a cougar might be responsible. The sheriff thought it was unlikely, it had been a long time since a bear had been spotted in the region. He thought it was more likely the hikers were just running off. “You know how kids are these days. Always running away when there’s the slightest difficulty. They’ll come crawling back to their lives soon enough. Nothing to worry about.”

Dean had been pleased when Cas had climbed into the car after they’d spoken with the sheriff and commented that the man had been an idiot. If this wasn’t a creature attack it had all the signs of a serial killer. When asked what creature he thought it was the angel had actually scoffed. “Clearly it’s werewolves Dean.”

Their hunt had led them to a cabin in the woods. They’d encountered and dealt with four werewolves on the way here. Dean had noticed that none of the werewolves looked older than 20. He hated when kids became monsters. The job of a hunter could suck in a lot of ways, but one of the worst for him was putting a bullet in some young guy or girl because they’d become something through no fault of their own.

The cabin sat nestled in amongst trees and bushes. There whole place looked rundown. Some of the other wood was rotting. Paint was flaking off in several places and the windows were caked with dirt. It was certainly liveable, but probably drafty as hell. Most likely a seasonal hunting cabin that hadn’t been used in a few years. There was an overgrown path that might allow a vehicle if the driver wasn’t picky about their shocks. Dean couldn’t think of a single reason why he’d ever subject Baby to that path. From his vantage he could see the back door but wasn’t close enough to see in the windows.

A soft rustling of feathers announced Cas’s arrival. Sam always claimed to be able to hear any of the angels when they arrived. Dean could only tell when Cas was arriving or taking off. He was never sure if he actually heard the feathers or if he just felt them. But he always knew when it was Castiel.  
The angel’s voice cut through Dean’s thoughts. “I couldn’t hear anything inside, but something is rotting in there. We may not have just werewolves to deal with. There’s no warding on the cabin itself, but there is something warded inside. I didn’t get close enough to see what it was in case I “tipped” them off.”  
Dean bit back a laugh when the statement was punctuated with air quotes. “Well, let’s go see what our werewolves thought was so important to lock up in an abandoned cabin and leave it all alone.”

They went through the back door. Dean had hoped to be quiet, but the door shrieked open when he pushed on it. Spirits of the damned would have made less noise. Any concern caused by the sound vanished when Dean’s nose was assaulted by the stench. Rotting flesh left a distinctive smell and this was it. A lot of it. Years of dealing with unpleasant things allowed Dean to push past his urge to vomit, but he didn’t want to hang around here long than he had to.  
The interior was dimly lit by the afternoon light streaming from behind them. It cast shadows around the cabin. Broken furniture was scattered around the room. In one corner was a pile that looked like it was made of several bodies. He could see some of the injuries and didn’t want to think about how these people had just been discarded.

As his eyes adjusted better to the gloom Dean saw the man staring at them from the far end of the cabin. At first glance he appeared to be standing, but a length of chain run over a beam in the room held him upright. The man looked dirty, tired and afraid. Dean wondered to himself why the man hadn’t called out for help. He took a step forward and was about to reassure the man when Cas put his arm in front of Dean’s chest. The angel pointed to a collection of bones around the man’s feet that Dean hadn’t seen initially. The bones formed a circle of sorts. 

“He’s a witch Dean. Be careful.”

The man seemed to slump deeper into his chains. His voice was dull, almost resigned when he spoke. “I guess that makes you hunters. At least you’ll kill me faster than the wolves would.” He pushed himself up a bit more into an upright position. “My name’s Luke. And yes I’m a witch. But I’m also a nurse, and an amateur botanist and a chili enthusiast. Hell, I’d be a husband now if I hadn’t dumped my fiancé after she cheated on me. I’m not just a witch and I’d really like to get away from here.”

Cas left Dean by the door and moved closer to where Luke was chained. He stopped just short of the circle and was careful not to brush up against it. He didn’t say anything for a moment and just stared at the man. Dean couldn’t see his face, but suspected he was doing the adorable squint that he always did when he was trying to figure something out. 

“Are you a good witch or a bad witch?”

Dean didn’t even bother to hide his grin. They had just watched that movie last week. Luke just sort of gaped back. After a moment he caught Dean’s eye.

“Did he just quote Glinda at me?”

“Better answer his question. And do it honestly, he doesn’t like being lied to.”

“A good witch I guess. I mean I don’t hurt people. I mostly know healing magics. I use it a lot in the emergency room, helps with traumas. And in my garden. I’ll be damned if that old bat Pinkles takes the prize for best flowers again.” Luke’s eyes widened before rushing on. “I don’t curse her or her flowers. I use spells to keep the pests away from my flowers. And to attract bees.”

“Why bees?” Cas demanded.

“Well…they’re useful to have around in a garden. They’re peaceful to listen too.” Luke tried to shrug as much as the chains would allow. “And they piss off Pinkles to no end. She hates them. So it’s kind of a win/win for me.”

“He likes bees Cas. That has to be a point toward being a good witch.” Dean was about to ask Cas to release Luke when the front door of the cabin flew open. It banged off the wall and cracked.

“MY BABIES!”

“YOU HURT MY BABIES!!!”

A woman stood in the door frame. At least Dean thought it was a woman. She was wearing tattered rags and looked like she’d rolled around in a compost heap. Her long hair was matted and bits of plant matter clung to it. Most werewolves Dean had encountered had a woodland scent to them. This creature smelled like the part of the forest that had begun to rot under too much rainwater. The smell almost drown out the rotting meat. 

“MY BAB…” 

Dean didn’t let her finish. He pulled his gun, aimed and fired two shots. The first caught her in the leg. She stumbled forward and the second shot caught her in the shoulder. Her wailing descended into incomprehension, but never stopped. 

Two figure leapt over her prone figure and advanced into the room. Time seemed to slow for Dean as a young woman threw herself at him. He managed to get a shot off before she knocked him to the ground. Her claws made short work of his shirt and left deep gouges in his chest. They struggled on the floor until she was pulled away. Cas was there. He hurled the werewolf from Dean. She slammed into a wall and fell to the floor. The angel advanced on her with his blade drawn.  
He snatched up his gun and scrambled to his feet. The woman was still wailing on her knees. He looked around to see where Luke was. The circle of bones had been broken and the chain lay in two piles. Cas had likely released him before coming to Dean’s aid. The witch was standing over the other werewolf breathing heavily. He looked pale to Dean.

“MY BABIES!!!” The woman stood clumsily, but with alarming speed. She pulled a stick from her rags. Its tip was already glowing with a sickly yellow light. “YOU HURT  
MY BABIES!” She pointed the end in Dean’s direction and the light leapt toward him.

Dean didn’t have time to aim his gun before Cas was there again. He was shoved aside and fell to the floor. A flash of yellow light momentarily blinded him. When his vision cleared he saw the woman hadn’t moved. The stick and her hand were blackened. He emptied the rest of the clip into her chest.  
When he stood he saw Cas. The angel lay on the floor bleeding.

“Cas?” Dean stared. Cas wasn’t moving. “Cas?” Dean wasn’t a healer. He was a warrior and violence couldn’t fix this. He looked up and saw Luke sort of staring down at the werewolf in front of him. “Luke! Do something man” he pleaded. “Do something.” 

The witch shook himself out of his thoughts. When he saw Cas on the floor his entire manner changed. The shaky look vanished and he moved with confidence. He kneeled next to Cas and started chanting something under his breath. Flashes of green light flickered along his fingers. He finished the spell and touched Cas’s chest. 

Nothing happened. 

“What the fuck?” Luke muttered to himself. 

He repeated the spell. No result. The blood was beginning to soak through the trench coat.

“What is he? He’s not human.” 

Dean barely heard the question. “He’s an angel.”

“Shit. Okay. Yeah. An angel. An angel. Fuck. An angel.” Luke’s eyes lit up and he snatched up a piece of wood from what was probably once a chair. “I can’t treat this here. Do you have a safe house nearby? Something with medical or magic supplies? Maybe both?”

Dean just nodded and stared at all the blood.

“Good.” Luke took a deep breath and slashed the palm of his hand with a nail sticking out of the chair leg. He tossed it aside and smeared the blood on his hands. The spell he cast spent tiny motes of green light into the air around Cas. They hovered until Luke clapped his hands together and pressed them down onto Cas’ blood soaked shirt. The lights danced along his skin and winked out. 

Cas’ bleeding stopped.

“I can’t treat him here,” Luke repeated. “Tell me you drove here.”

Dean’s thoughts were sluggish. Baby. They came here in Baby and she was parked down at the road. “We drove here. Can you move him?”

“Get your car. We’ll have to risk moving him.”

Dean bolted out of the cabin and down the overgrown path. As he ran he thought that he’d found a reason to subject Baby to this overgrown path; Cas.


	2. Accepting Limitations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas has been hurt and Dean can't fix it. He wants to help though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to write Dean as a man who is completely out of his depth. Not trying to make Luke amazing, just he has the skills for this situation. I've always wondered what Dean would do if he couldn't fix whatever situation was in front of him. I hope this is an enjoyable read. I'll get it out of my mind at least.

Dean had always loved nights like this. There was no moon and the star shone brightly in the sky. More than once he had pulled the Impala into a field and lay on the hood staring at the heavens. Sometimes he shared a beer with his brother while doing this. Sometimes Castiel. More often than not it was his own time. It was quiet, the world was at peace around him and, even though deep down he knew that terrible things were happening elsewhere, he could take a pause and enjoy the moment. He got too few of those moments.

Tonight, he couldn’t indulge. Dean knew the Impala inside and out. Hell, he had even rebuilt Baby from the tires up a few times. He knew exactly how to push her to get extra speed or a bit more mileage. Tonight, he was using every trick he knew. Even being careful he knew that he was going to have to give her a lot of TLC. The engine would probably need to be taken apart entirely and cleaned after this trip. The inside would definitely need to be wiped down.  
The smell of blood filled the Impala. Even having the windows open wasn’t enough to air the vehicle out. A good scrubbing might do the trick, but it was probably going to take a lot of work to get Cas’ blood out.

He glanced into the rear-view mirror. Cas lay across the back seat with his shoulders and head in Luke’s lap. The witch held the angel in place and was bent over him slightly whispering gibberish. Dean felt a momentary surge of protectiveness. He immediately dismissed it. He couldn’t fix his friend. Him sitting in the back seat with Cas in his lap wouldn’t fix his friend. He shook his head and tried to focus on what he could do instead. He could get Cas back to the bunker. Maybe there was something he could do there. He wasn’t hopeful that he could help at all. He could drive though. 

“The spell will hold for a little while longer.” Luke spoke in at a normal volume. It seemed wrong somehow. Like they should be whispering. “But I can’t keep it going for hours unless I cast it properly. How long until we get there?”

Dean didn’t need to look for a landmark. He knew exactly where they were and how many shortcuts he could pull between here and the bunker. “About an hour. Maybe less if that one sideroad isn’t flooded again.”

“Kay, the spell will last that long at least.” Luke was quite for a moment, but the gibberish he’d been muttering before didn’t pick up again. “I already owe you guys a lot, but is there coffee there?”

Dean let out a small laugh. “Yeah, there’s coffee. Real coffee, not that instant crap.”

“Good. I think I’m going to need a pot or two tonight.”

*******

The Men of Letters had kept their bunker well stocked. When they’d first moved in Dean and Sam had to replace all the perishables, but most of the stuff was still very useable. Sam had practically fainted over the library. Hell, he still gushed over it. Their library had books in it written in languages that Dean had never even heard of on topics that he had never even thought of. Dean wasn’t a book man, but he could tell the Men of Letters had sunk a lot of time and money into those books. He guessed that when the bunker was active that a lot of people had spent most of their time in the library.  
The second-best stocked room was the infirmary. The Men of Letters had apparently found themselves having to stitch each other up a fair bit and than have a drink afterward. After the library and infirmary, the best stocked area had been the various liquor cabinets. Even after all the time they’d lived there booze bottles kept turning up in the strangest places.

Dean shoved some boxes off a large table in the centre of the infirmary. Luke carefully set Cas down and began moving around him without ever breaking physical contact. Flashes of green light would flicker across his fingers and along Cas’ skin. He would pause now and again to trace some symbol on the table in blood that was still tacky somehow. After a few laps he stepped back and leaned against a wall.

“That should hold for a few hours.”

“It didn’t do anything,” Dean snapped. “He still looks the same.”

“Dean, it’s a stasis spell. It’s meant to buy us enough time to figure out what to do next.” Luke pushed off from the wall and washed his hands off in the sink. 

“Well can you fix him? What’s wrong with him?”

“Right now I’m not sure.” Luke was calmly opening and closing cupboards. 

The panic that Dean had felt on the car ride back was starting to fade. Frustration and anger were starting to take its place. Dean was comfortable with angry. Much better than being scared. Dean hated feeling scared. The calmness that Luke was exuding didn’t help Dean relax. It was just pissing him off.

“That’s just great. You told me to bring you here so you could fix him. And now you’re saying you won’t do anything?” Dean slammed his hands onto the counter in frustration. A few small bottles fell over. “What the fuck? Do something!”

Luke pulled a pair of scrubs out of a cupboard and set them on the counter. He sighed as he turned around and looked at Dean. His expression was neutral. Dean had seen that look in every emergency room he’d ever been in. It was a look that gave nothing away except to say ‘you are not in control here’. Dean could feel the   
fear starting to flood up again.

“I said I was going to do everything I could and I plan to do that. I owe you two my life and I plan to pay that debt back. I just don’t know if it’s going to be enough.” He carefully right the bottles Dean had knocked over. “Castiel is very injured. And I don’t know what this curse even is. Whatever it was left a linger effect of some kind and it keeps eating away at my magic. Magic alone isn’t going to fix this.” Luke reached out and put his hand on Dean’s shoulder. “I promise I will do everything I can. Every procedure, treatment, spell and trick I’ve learned. I just hope it’s enough.” He grabbed the scrubs. “I need a shower and then coffee.”

Dean had intended to make coffee after pointing Luke toward the shower room. But he couldn’t make himself leave the infirmary. It seemed wrong to leave Cas alone. There was nothing he could do to help, but he could stay. So he stayed.

********

It was only a few minutes when Luke returned, but it had seemed like hours. Dean hadn’t said anything, he’d just stared at Cas. He kept having to remind himself that this was actually happening. That Cas was gravely injured. It didn’t seem possible. Castiel was an angel. One of the most powerful entities in existence. He shouldn’t be laid out on a table barely clinging to life.

Dean started when Luke coughed. The man had changed into the scrubs he took with him. He stuffed his dirty clothes under a chair.

“Um, I’m going to go make that coffee now.” He stood and went to leave. “It just didn’t seem right to leave him all alone.”

Luke smiled slightly. “I get it Dean. Sometimes being at their side is the only way a family can show they care.” He pulled a stethoscope out of a drawer and popped the ear buds in. Dean left before he could see any more of the poking and prodding. 

********  
Dean mulled over what Luke had said while the coffee brewed. Cas was family. He’d said it before and he believed it, but hadn’t really thought about what it meant. John Winchester had taught his son a great many lessons. Even all these years later Dean was still sorting out which ones were worth keeping and which needed to be discarded.

John had taught him a great deal about hunting. How to track, how to research and who to trust. In John’s mind humans weren’t always to be trusted, but you always trusted a human over a monster. To John, anything that wasn’t completely human was a monster. He would not have approved of Dean’s associations with a vampire. He definitely wouldn’t have liked the fact Dean was on speaking terms with the literal King of Hell. And he probably wouldn’t have approved of Cas either. Angel’s weren’t human. You could use a monster for a fight, but you never let them get close to you. You never liked them. You never loved them.

Dean’s dad had also taught him about family loyalty. In John’s mind that had meant himself, his sons and his wife. Over the years Dean had realized that what John meant, even though he probably didn’t know it, was for Dean to be loyal to his brother, his father and his father’s all-consuming desire for revenge for the loss of his wife. Dean loved his father, but deep down knew the man had been a shitty dad after Mary had died. He couldn’t see anything but the pain his grief left for him. He’d abandoned his sons for his own crusade.

Family was a bigger term than just blood for Dean. Sammy was family. He’d die for his brother. He’d done it already, even gone to Hell for the kid. And would again if he had to. But Dean had added other people into the family category over the years. None of them blood. Bobby had been more of a father than John had. Jody alternated between the role of big sister and mother. Claire, Charlie, Benny and Donna all fell into the family category too. And Cas. Cas certainly belonged in the family category. 

John had taught him you did everything you could for family, and he believed that. Cas was family, but what could he do for him? He had no medical training. The only one who did was the witch in the other room. He briefly wondered what his father would have thought about trusting a witch to do anything but take a bullet. Dean wasn’t a healer, and couldn’t cast a spell unless the instructions were painfully clear, but he could be there for Cas. Even if it was just sitting at his bedside doing nothing. 

Dean made a quick phone call to Jody while he waited for the coffee to finish brewing. He asked her if she could swing by the cabin and clean up the mess he’d had to leave behind. She didn’t ask why he’d left it, but said she’d deal with it for him. Though she promised that she’d collect on the debt.

After a moment’s thought he put together some sandwiches. He poured the coffee into a thermos and snagged two mugs. He wasn’t sure how he did it, but he managed to get everything back to the infirmary without dropping any of it. Not trusting himself at first, Dean made for the counter without looking at Cas. He set everything down and than turned to look at his friend.

Cas lay just as still as he had been when Dean left. Luke had removed all Cas’ clothes and piled them in a corner. The witch had washed the blood from him. Dean could see the basin of water on the counter. Without all the blood the injuries were starting to show. His entire body was covered with lacerations, some of them looked deep. Dark purple and greenish bruises were starting to colour the skin. His right shoulder didn’t seem to sit properly. 

Dean had to pull his gaze away. This wasn’t like Cas. Cas was strong. Powerful. Now he was smaller. Fragile. Almost human. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He was going to be here for his friend if it killed him. He took another deep breath and stamped down on the tightening fear in the pit of his stomach. This is what family did and Cas was family.

When he opened his eyes Luke had already downed his first cup of coffee and was pouring himself another. He took a quick glance at Cas and then looked back at the other man. 

“What can I do? Just tell me what you need me to do for him. Whatever it is I’ll do it.”

The next several hours were grueling. Dean only left the room briefly to get whatever Luke asked for or to get more coffee. Otherwise he stayed, watched and helped whenever he could. He watched his friend’s wounds washed and bandaged. Several of them had to be stitched shut first. Dean winced when Luke set Cas’ collar bone and splinted it. Watching Cas’ ribs be adjusted almost made him pass out. The smell of spell components being burned made his eyes water. He almost broke his promise to stay when Luke had him help turn Cas on his side so the angel’s back could be examined properly. The limpness of his friend was surprising. He didn’t run though, he stayed and held Cas tight while Luke poked and prodded him. Dean sighed audibly when Luke finally finished. 

“Well?” 

Luke sighed. “He’s stable right now. I think. That curse, whatever it was, is nasty. Unnecessarily nasty. As far as I can tell, it does two things. First it does a catastrophic amount of physical damage. You or I would not have survived that alone. Fortunately, angels seem to be made of sturdy stuff than humans. The second thing it does is attack the soul. Again, you or I would have been destroyed outright. But angels are all soul and Catiel seems to have walled himself off away from the curse. So the only thing it can find to, eat for lack of a better term, is my magic.” Luke washed his hands and dried them before continuing. “That’s why I had to keep upping the power of my spells because the curse kept sucking them up. I think it’s getting weaker though.”

“What does that mean? Is Cas going to be okay?”

“The honest answer is; I don’t know. Cas seems to have put himself into a coma. We just have to support him until he comes out of it. We can support his body and help it heal.” 

“When is he going to wake up?”

“I don’t know, Dean.” Luke sighed again and rubbed his temples. “I’ve never treated an angel as a patient. I don’t even know anyone who has. Right now his body is acting like a normal human so that’s what I’m going to treat him as. When he wakes up he can fix anything I did wrong. But I don’t know when that will be.” The witch didn’t say it, but Dean definitely felt there was an ‘if’ attached to the last statement.

Dean absently brushed some hair out of Cas’ eyes. “What do we do now then?” 

“We wait. We’ve provided treatments, now we wait to see if they work.” Luke took a sip of coffee and grimaced at how cold it was. “This is one of the parts of medicine that really sucks.”

“Yeah, it does.” Dean freshened his own coffee. “I’m grateful for what you’ve done already for him, but I didn’t think nurses could do everything you were doing.”

“I’ve worked in a few remote locations where I was sort of all there was for medical care. Also worked with a few doctors who liked to teach and a few who didn’t want to do anything. Picked up a few things here and there. But I’d appreciate it if you don’t mention any of this to my licensing body though.”

It wasn’t all that funny, but Dean laughed. “I guess I can do that for you.” He settled himself down into a chair and propped his legs up. “They probably wouldn’t believe me anyway.”

“So I’ve given you the good news, such as it is,” Luke started. “Now here’s what you don’t want to hear. You should go lay down now. You need some sleep.”

“Like hell I will.” Dean didn’t bother moving. “I’m going to stay right here until Cas wakes up.” 

A look of irritation flickered across Luke’s face. “Look, I’ve had a rough couple of days. I broke up with my fiancé, got jumped by werewolves and watched those same werewolves literally eat people in front of me. I’ve mingled magic and medicine in ways that I didn’t even know were possible. I should be writing a book about all this. I’ve done everything I can and I’m still not sure it’ll be enough. I’m tired ad in a few hours I’m going to crash. Hard. You’ll need to be here watching him when I can’t. He’ll need you awake. But I can promise you I don’t intend to hurt your boyfriend while you sleep.”

“Cas isn’t my boyfriend. We’re just friends.”

The look of irritation vanished from the witch’s face. He stared blankly at Dean for a second and laugh. “That’s pretty good,” Luke chuckled. “Oh god, you’re actually serious.”

Dean just sat there and watched the witch lose his damn mind. The man laughed for several minutes. Clutching his stomach and turning red in the face. He was actually crying by the end of it and clinging to the counter to keep standing. 

“What the fuck? We’re not dating,” Dean insisted.

“Of course not,” Luke gasped. “You’re just friends. Got it. Okay. I promise I won’t kill your not-boyfriend.”

“We really aren’t.”

“Get some sleep Dean. I’ll wake you in a few hours.”

********

Dean had always wondered why there was such a small room across from the infirmary. It was barely big enough for a cot. Now he understood, it was far enough to sleep, but close enough to be there if needed. He’d assumed he was too wound up to sleep when he staggered into the room. But he must have passed out. It felt like only minutes had passed when he was shook awake. He glanced at his phone to see he’d been asleep for almost six hours. 

The only change he could see in Cas’ condition was that Luke had him tilted to one side slightly. Otherwise he looked exactly the same. Luke looked like he was on the verge of collapse. Which he probably was, Dean had no idea when the last time the man had slept. 

“Tell me what you need me to do and when I should call you.”

“Get me if anything changes. And I mean anything Dean. Don’t try to deal with anything without me. I don’t care if it’s been five minutes since I’ve been in here. Call me.” He gestured to a page that was on the counter. “I’ve written out some instructions there. Things to keep an eye out for. Again, call me if you see any of them. Otherwise just watch him.”

“I won’t leave the room.”

Luke stepped out of the room for a moment before popping his head back in. “You can talk to him. Don’t try to get a response out of him, but you can talk to him. It might help to have a voice he recognizes.” 

“What should I say?”

“Whatever you want. Just talking can help.”

Dean pulled a chair over and sat down by Cas’ side. He leaned on the bed and just watched his friend for a moment. He tentatively reached out and grabbed Cas’ hand. 

“Hey. I’m here. I’m not leaving you. I always thought it was creepy when you watched me sleeping. I think I might get it now.”

He lost track of time as he talked with Cas. Or talked at him. Whatever stray thought popped into his head he said aloud. Nothing serious, he kept away from that. And he never begged Cas to come back, just let him know he was there and wasn’t going anywhere. 

It may have been an hour or two or even three when he noticed the change. Cas’ breathing went from smooth to ragged. He started making strangled wheezing sounds. 

“CAS!” Dean knocked his chair to the floor as he stood. He never lost his grip on his friend’s hand. “LUKE! Get in here, Luke!”

Castiel’s face was turning a dark red as he continued to gasp. Dean tried pulling the blanket down to expose Cas’ chest to see if that would help at all. He struggled to get his arm to cooperate, it seemed like he was moving through tar. 

“LUKE! Where the fuck are you?” 

Dean went to move around the table to get closer to the door. He stumbled and had to flail for a moment to catch his balance. He tried moving the other way and stumbled again.

Cas was turning purple. He couldn’t fix this. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t even know what was wrong.


	3. What's more important than pie?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time passes. Healing and realizations occur.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All done. Thanks for hanging in with me until the end of this. I hope you enjoyed it.

Dean felt a brief rush of air before he slammed into the wall hard enough to make his teeth rattle. The world momentarily doubled. He saw two Lukes dart across the room. By the time they’d reached the drawers they’d merged into one. Luke fished around in the drawer for a second and pulled out a huge syringe. He turned to Cas and counted his fingers down the angel’s chest before plunging the needle in. Dean tried to lunge off the wall but couldn’t move. 

There was a pop as the plunger flew out of the syringe and land on the counter. The hiss of escaping air filled the room briefly. Cas’ breathing became less laboured until it returned to normal. His colour started to shift away from purple and back to his normal skin tone. The needle was removed and a small bandage placed over the hole.

Luke carefully capped the needle and set it on the counter. He picked up the stethoscope so he could listen to Cas’ chest. He seemed to move with deliberate slowness while he did it. When he finished that he washed his face and hands. Finally he came over to look at Dean while he dabbed at a split lip.

“Are you done now?”

“What are you talking about? Where were you? Let me down.” Dean struggled against the force that kept him pinned to the wall.

“Stop that,” Luke snapped. “I need to know if you’re finished with the hysterics or not. You weren’t rational a few minutes ago and I doubt you heard anything I said. We need to deal with a collapsed lung and can’t do that if I’m worried you’re going to sucker punch me again.”

Dean didn’t remember hitting anyone, but his hand did hurt. He could have punched Luke. He’d been pretty freaked out for a bit there. Maybe Luke had been there and he just hadn’t noticed. He shoved it all aside. “I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not.” Luke flicked his hand across Dean’s chest and the hunter found himself free. “Someone you care very deeply for is hurting. You’re far from fine.” He started rummaging through cupboards. “Wash your hands, I’m going to need some help fixing your not-boyfriend.”

Dean didn’t bother to correct him. He just washed his hands and followed Luke’s instructions. Once again he was holding Cas while Luke poked at the angel’s side. The witch explained to Dean that the tube he was holding was going to go into Cas’ chest and that it was a delicate procedure that wouldn’t be helped by the addition of punching. Dean swallowed his discomfort and nodded. He could do this for Cas.

After it was finished Dean carefully laid Cas back down. The tubing was connected to three bottles of water that Luke claimed would re-inflate Cas’ lung. The water was bubbling so Dean guessed it had to be doing something.

“Does it hurt?” 

“A lung re-inflating?” Luke asked. “Yeah, it does. I’m not sure how must he’s feeling right now though. He might not even notice it.”  
Dean pulled his chair next to Cas and sat down next to him again. He started talking to him like he had been a little while before. The least he could do is distract his friend from any pain.

**********

The next few days passed uneventfully. Dean couldn’t even begin to explain how relieved he was about that. Dean and Luke took turns watching over Castiel, though Dean did keep taking short rest breaks so he could spend more time in the infirmary. 

Two days after it went in Luke removed the tube. Dean prowled around for hours with the fear that Cas was going to give a repeat performance of his lung collapse. Nothing happened though and eventually Luke kicked him out to go pace somewhere else. 

The morning after the tube came out Luke started spending more of the time they were both awake in the library. Dean took this as a good sign. He didn’t mind the extra alone time with Cas, but it probably meant that Luke was comfortable enough with Cas’ progress that he felt he didn’t need to be hovering all the time.  
Dean took the time to explain at length why any given Zeppelin song was better than anything that came out today. Though he would admit some of the new stuff on the radio did not make him want to shoot himself. He also debated the virtues of apple over rhubarb pie. He knew the conversations were really more of a monologue, but they helped him keep his sanity. He didn’t want to be a gibbering wreck when Cas woke up. Because Cas was going to wake up.

******  
Dean had just finished shower and was pulling on a clean shirt when Luke knocked at his door. It was day five or six after the hunt. Dean had lost track and half the time he didn’t even know if the sun was up or not.

“Shouldn’t you be with Cas? I know he’s doing better, but I don’t think he should be alone right now.”

“That’s why I came to talk to you,” Luke said.

Dean’s heart rate leapt up and he felt it hammering away in his chest. “Is he okay? He didn’t have that lung thing happen again did he?”

“He’s fine. He told me to come talk to you.”

“He did what?”

“Castiel woke up.” Luke stuck his arm across the doorway. “And he asked me to give him some time to ‘put himself in order’. He even used the air quotes while saying that. Your man is an odd one Dean.”

“Look, he isn’t my man,” Dean sighed.

“Of course not. It’s going to take him a few minutes at least to ‘put himself in order’ so I thought I’d pass on some advice.”

“Bobby always told me to be wary of free advice,” Dean joked. “Said you get what you pay for.”

Luke laughed. “Oh this isn’t free. I plan to drink the beer in your fridge as payment.” He closed his eyes for a moment before continuing. “Dean, I know people like you. I’ve treated them, I’ve worked with them and most of the time I am one. We want to see the world a better place, we do it differently, but it’s a heavy burden to carry. We don’t succeed as often as we’d like and we take those failures to heart. They keep us awake at night.”

Over the years Dean had kept a list of all the people he couldn’t save. He had two lists. The first was of family and that list was far too long. The second list had the strangers lost on hunts. He didn’t always have names for them, but they were on the list. When he was feeling really low he’d go over the lists so he could promise them he’d do better next time. 

“Sorry, I’m getting a little off topic. My point is that people like us don’t always get a lot of happy in our lives. Sometimes the happiness isn’t there and sometimes we just don’t reach out and take it.” 

“Are you hitting on me or should we hug now?” Dean laughed. “Cause you aren’t really my type.”

“You’re safe, you’re not my type either,” Luke assured him. “What I’m trying to say is that you deserve to be happy. And maybe you could be the reason someone else is happy.” He cocked his head to one side listening. “Your not-boyfriend is coming so I’ll wrap this up. Don’t fuck this up. You deserve to be happy. Now I’m going to liberate the beer from your fridge and process what the hell has happened to me the last little while”

Luke stepped aside and Cas was there in all his Cas-ness. The trench coat was back and his shirt was blood free. Dean couldn’t see any of the bruising and the stitches seemed to be gone as well. This was the Cas he knew. Cas looked whole again.

Before he knew what he was doing, Dean was crushing Cas into a hug. The angel was awkward for a moment before relaxing into the embrace. A minute stretched into two which stretched into three. Neither of them said anything.

Eventually Dean pulled back and looked at Cas, but he didn’t let go of him. “I thought I’d lost you man.”

“I’m fine Dean. A little drained of grace, but fine.”

“Your grace is gone?” 

“Drained, but not gone. It’ll recharge, but I should limit it’s use for a few days.”

Dean realized he was still holding onto Cas’ arms and let his own drop. “Um, so is there anything you want to do while you pretend to be human? Or should you keep resting?”

Cas frowned slightly when Dean let go, but didn’t say anything about it. “I can do whatever a healthy human can. So I don’t need more rest right now. I do have a question for you though.”

“Shoot.”

“Did you enjoy your pie?”

“What pie?”

“Your after hunt pie. The whole point of the hunt was to replace the pie that Crowley stole from you.”

“Dude, you were really hurt. I couldn’t leave you. Not to go get pie.” Cas didn’t say anything right away. The momentary silence gave Dean a chance to realize he just told the angel that he was more important than pie in Dean’s world. It was true, but it was also a heavy thing to admit out loud. 

“It is late, but do you want to get that pie now?”

“Absolutely. We’ll have to take your truck though. Baby needs some work before I can take her out again.”

“I’ll go find my keys then.”

Dean watched his friend leave and realized that he’d chosen Cas over both Baby and pie. He wasn’t sure how he’d never noticed that before. He’d also known Cas was special, but never noticed how special. There were few things that Dean wouldn’t give up for Cas. Sammy was probably the only thing that would make that list.

He snatched up his jacket and head toward the garage. Despite how sure Luke was, Dean knew he was wrong. Cas wasn’t his boyfriend. But the more he thought about it, Dean realized he wanted the witch to be right.


End file.
